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The changing of the seasons were times of great opportunity. While one part of the year came to an end, another blossomed to life, and no season represented that more than spring.
With spring came the mating season and all that it entailed.
Ah-Un was partial to spring, primarily because it was when the freshest foliage was produced, but this year he had a more urgent matter to attend to.
A matter that was as annoying as a tick in his ear or a burr under his saddle.
His pet was skilled at many things, but securing a mate was not one of them.
And, frankly, the failures were becoming rather exhausting and pitiful to witness. Ah-Un could only take so much humiliation.
The subject of his misfortune was currently strolling through a human village, permitting the youngest of his brood to yammer on about her day.
Ah-Un found her tolerable enough, though he still wondered what had possessed Sesshomaru to adopt the tiny obnoxious imp.
Dragons did not collect hatchlings that were not born from their nest.
And they most especially did not adopt and raise hatchlings when they themselves were still single.
Was that why his pet had not yet claimed a mate? Had his impulsiveness driven away all potential partners?
There was only one adult female that Sesshomaru seemed to spend any time around, and even then, Sesshomaru never acted upon anything.
Ah-Un had always considered his pet intelligent, yet Sesshomaru was a disappointment regarding this particular subject.
He was so old, and yet still he remained single. Did he not even understand how to court?
It was a simple enough process. The first step was to display his ability as a hunter by delivering offerings to his potential mate.
Ah-Un would happily undertake that himself. He was, after all, incredibly strong. Carrying such a load would mean little to him.
But he wasn't in need of a mate. His pet was.
And it was high time that his pet got one.
A daiyokai of his title and accomplishments was long overdue for a companion, one who could fill his nest with a brood all his own.
Preferably a lot of hatchlings, Ah-Un reflected. He was rather fond of children.
Human, yokai, hanyo—the origins of their birth mattered little. It was nothing compared to the joy they would surely bring.
With that in mind, he began plotting. There were a lot of criteria to secure a mate, but the most important one to start with was a nest for the mate and brood to live in.
It had to be somewhere safe to give the pair ample time to mate and raise their young without threats from the outside world.
High enough to avoid predators but stable enough that the young could not tumble out and injure themselves.
Identifying such a location would have been quite a predicament for a human. For a dragon such as himself, the task was simple enough.
He took to the air and found a small, secluded valley that would make a perfect nest.
Hidden between the towering mountains, inaccessible by human roads, with towering trees at the base to keep predators from seeing the nest and the young contained within.
Fresh water flowed forth from the springs beneath the mountain range—the untouched soil would produce a bountiful harvest to help nourish them.
Everything they would need was already here, save for the nest itself.
That would be remedied soon enough.
Ah-Un began humming to himself as he gathered sticks, fur, feathers, and other trinkets to make the perfect nest.
He made sure to layer them in a way that would please his pet. Sesshomaru was not one for material objects, but he was a rather prideful daiyokai.
And Sesshomaru would no doubt reject an uncomfortable nest.
He was entirely too finical about where he chose to rest—not that he did so very often.
And Ah-Un would allow for no mistakes. Continuing to hum, he located a large fur from an unattended stall and took it back to like the nest.
Now that his pet's needs had been seen to, he needed to focus on Sesshomaru's mate.
Humans were far more delicate than dragons or yokai. Even though this particular human was quite tenacious, she would require additional protection.
He commandeered a bow and some arrows from more unattended stalls, unsure which kind she would use.
Human weapons were barbaric and tended to be ineffective. Ah-Un would never understand why his pet insisted on using similar tools when his claws were clearly more suitable.
But the female, at least, he understood. She had soft skin and no weapons aside from those provided to her.
He would forgive the human for clinging to the weapons she crafted. In her case, they were a necessity.
But weapons wouldn't be all she needed.
Recalling the times spent huddled around floundering fires and dying lands, Ah-Un knew the human would require sustenance as well—his pet could go for days without nourishment, but the woman seemed to need it at specific intervals.
And he knew she liked plants—all human females seemed to, judging by both the young child and the woman—so he figured some seeds and plants from the hanyo farm his pet visited would do rather nicely.
And maybe, he mused cocking his head, he should move the nest closer to that cave-like opening, recalling that humans needed shelter on cold nights.
He certainly did not wish for his pet's mate to become chilled and sickened. She needed to be protected and cared for so that their future batch of hatchlings would be healthy.
Once the nest was moved and items secured, Ah-Un set his sights on luring the female to the nest.
He was determined to ensure the lure was enticing, but his first attempt at using the child failed. He found himself resorting to feigning an injury to get her attention.
He never understood the woman's need to heal the sick and injured—it was an admirable human trait, he supposed, but a dragon's first instinct was survival, regardless of who needed to be sacrificed.
But in this instance, it worked. She cooed over him as she urged him to stay still for treatment.
Of course, he had no intentions of doing that.
Ah-Un feigned a limp as he walked closer, both heads bowing to cover the lack of blood.
He made a pitiful noise in his throat, hoping to elicit a quick response.
As soon as she was close enough, Ah-Un grabbed hold of the back of her clothing and swiftly took to the skies.
He ignored her scream of surprise. She would be thankful for his efforts soon enough, feeding him tasty treats as a way of saying thank you.
And he had no doubt she would thank him—he was going out of his way to procure her a mate, and a powerful one at that.
One who would provide for her and protect her and their hatchlings. She clearly couldn't find a suitable mate on her own, either.
Ah-Un had noted the shift between her and other males in her proximity, primarily the half-brother of his pet.
Clearly, she needed help as well, and he was just the dragon for the job.
Depositing her into the nest with as much care as he could muster, she squealed as she tried to regain her balance.
The bottom of her robes caught on the floor of her nest, preventing her from climbing back onto him, and Ah-Un snorted at her calls—why was she still worried about him?
"Let me check on your wounds," she said, trying in vain to free herself. Had she not yet realized it was all a ploy? His pet was not so simple-minded, reaffirming to Ah-Un that she needed a mate to keep her safe.
Which brought him to his next task: luring his pet to the nest.
Without bothering to allow the miko to tend to him, he took to the air once more.
He always knew where to find his pet. Even without his keen sense of smell, the task would have been easy.
All he had to do now was convince his pet to follow him.
Considering the human female's sudden disappearance from the village, persuading his pet wouldn't take much.
But he had a backup plan in mind on the off chance it did.
His pet's surrogate hatchling had a talent for getting Sesshomaru to do as she wished. All Ah-Un had to do was ensure she supported his mission.
He walked up to Rin and huffed into her hands gently to get her attention.
"Ah-Un!" the girl squealed, delighted by his presence. He had to admit that it was nice to be praised once in a while—something his pet rarely did.
He allowed the hatchling a moment to throw her arms around his necks before he snorted to get her attention.
She tilted her head to the side. "What's wrong?"
He turned his heads toward Sesshomaru with a pointed expression.
"Sesshomaru-sama? Something's wrong with Ah-Un," she said, patting his side as they walked towards his pet.
Ah-Un was pleased by the hatchling's intelligence. She'd grasped the situation and its urgency almost immediately—unlike the ugly green one.
Even as the thought entered his minds, the foul little frog started screeching, berating the hatching for jumping to conclusions.
Ah-Un was not surprised when the imp suddenly fell over face-first into the ground.
The large, red welt on the rear of his bald head indicated just how irritated Sesshomaru was with his antics.
Ah-Un huffed in momentary amusement before he returned to the task at hand.
His pet gave him a once over. "The beast is fine, Rin."
Ah-Un snorted as he nudged the girl.
She glanced around the village, noting the various other humans mingling nearby. Her brow creased, and she asked his pet about the other female's whereabouts.
Playing up his distress, he grabbed onto her sleeve with both heads, pulling her in the opposite direction.
His pet noticed.
There was an urgency that hadn't been there moments before as Ah-Un beckoned him to follow.
Everything was going according to plan.
When they arrived back at the nest, the hatchling on his back, he found the woman was not where he'd left her.
Ah-Un huffed in annoyance; he wasn't looking forward to tracking her back down.
But that wasn't his most pressing problem—without the female, his pet's attention was sure to wander onto other tasks.
He glanced around, thinking quickly, and to his delight, found the female dangling from the nest's edge.
Without claws or talons to hold herself in place, she was at the mercy of her weak limbs. It was a foolish attempt at escape and a dangerous one.
It was a good thing he'd brought his pet to handle her. She might not have lived long if he'd dallied.
Was this why his pet's brother constantly complained about her reckless behaviour?
He snorted as his pet dutifully flew to her rescue. At least something was going right.
The hatchling started squeezing his necks, her panicked nattering a strange commentary to the rescue.
Ah-Un wasn't worried, however. His pet was capable enough to save the female without his assistance.
As long as she accepted it.
He huffed to himself as he allowed the hatchling to soothe her anxiety by petting him.
His pet seemed to be doing a lot of explaining to the female, though with the way one of her arms was flailing, Ah-Un assumed she was trying to convince him that she had things well in hand. However, his pet quickly overruled her, grabbing her around the waist before setting her down in the safety of the nest.
Ah-Un wasted not a single moment then. They had shelter, food, and supplies. The mating could commence now.
Just as soon as he and the hatchling left.
He turned to watch from a safe distance—he had to be sure it would work.
Even as the female waved her hands around, mostly in his own direction, Ah-Un could see his pet's pheromones at work, the proximity bringing a flush to her cheeks.
He snorted, pleased. Soon the nest would be filled with their hatchlings.
It had been ages since he'd seen a new hatchling come into the world. Given the physical attributes of his pet and his soon-to-be mate, the brood would be powerful and attractive.
Ah-Un would be pleased to watch over the hatchlings and ensure no harm came to them.
After all, who was better suited to keep his pet's offspring on track than himself?
He snorted with pleasure as he saw his pet finally pull the female into a passionate embrace.
Humans and inuyokai were just so unnecessarily complicated.
Why had she made such a fuss to begin with when she gripped him so fiercely now?
They were both fools.
As he lay curled up beside the fire, Ah-Un reflected that while it had been a good idea to find a mate for his pet, he had not realized how inclined to hatchlings said mate would be. Though the set of snake triplets currently using him as a bed was not theirs by blood, both his pet and his mate seemed inclined to bring home any hatchling they came across—the triplets bringing the number to eight.
He supposed he should be glad that they didn't take after the hanyo his pet had bred—they preferred to use him as a climbing device, pulling at his scales and fur as though he was nothing but furniture.
The door creaked, and his pet entered the room, the smallest hatchling clutched tightly in his arm. His movements were silent as he knelt close, offering up the smiling babe for inspection.
Ah-Un snorted, the warm air mussing the small amount of fur atop the hatchling's head and causing it to giggle.
Both heads cocked to the side as Ah-Un witnessed a rare smile on his pet's face, his hand sliding over scales as he rose to his feet.
"You are an efficient provider."
Ah-Un was sure there was a deeper meaning to his pet's words, but he curled up around the triplets, content to think on it another day.